Cyber Security…sick of hearing about this?
June 28, 2018.
Not us. Cyberattacks are on the increase, causing very tangible damage throughout the world. Cyber attackers mean business and they have the intentions and capability. Even minor breaches, like that of the Lizard Squad against PlayStation on Christmas Day, have increased in frequency and strength, but now we are seeing more and more and with bigger and bigger impacts. No one has all the answers. If they claim they do, they likely will become the next victim. By 2025, experts believe that “nations, rogue groups, and malicious individuals” will step up their hacking games, according to a report from the Pew Research Center and Elon University. Of the 1,642 experts surveyed in this report, 61% predicted a major attack causing significant loss of life or property and costing tens of billions of dollars. That’s almost two-third’s of the experts! Why do hackers do this? Because they can.
Today, countries or militaries that don’t typically attack in two dimensions have started to venture into hacking territory. For example, the Islamic State group (also known as ISIS or ISIL) has launched its “cyber calliphate,” and Russia is at a minimum “rumored” to support a state-sponsored hacker group. Need we remember the ongoing Russia Probe in the 2016 elections? These hacks could affect banks, businesses, and private data, but also do tangible damage to a world increasingly reliant on technology. Medicine is no exception.
Think of it….hacking into an ICU fluid pump or patient’s ventilator……the idea should resonate with us and shake us into action! This is a virgin “market” and ripe for picking regardless of any counter intelligence. We are now seeing insurance protection for cyber security breaches. Never have we seen that happening so soon, but it is real and aggressively changing the cost of security and the in depth protective design of the platforms. In 2014 our own FDA finally elevated cyber-security to the front for medical devices. No one is immune, but Athena is on it and aggressively addressing these news risks. As a Medical Wireless Solutions Provider, we take this seriously and are here to help. Athena recently cleared a novel software platform through the FDA with a renewed focus on protecting the product and our customers, the Athena Device Management Suite (ADMS). For more information, click here.
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